If you tell a woman a joke and get a blank look , don't immediately despair. She's just taking her time to understand it. But if the joke does eventually make her laugh it will be worth the wait. Scientists have found that while women are slower than men at getting jokes , they enjoy them more. Research shows that women use their brain more than men to process quips( 妙语 ) and have less expectation that they will be funny. When a joke does hit the right note , however , they derive( 得到 ) more pleasure from it. Scientists asked ten men and ten women to look at dozens of black and white cartoons and rate them on a “ funniness scale ” . During the process they underwent sophisticated ( 复杂 ) scans that mapped which parts of their brain were lighting up and timed how long it took them to respond to a joke. The women tended to use certain parts of their brain more than the men . Researcher Professor Allan Reiss said : Our findings fit the stereotype of how men and women react to humour.We found that women tend to respond more to narrative and wordplay( 双关语 ) than slapstick( 闹剧 ) . Canadian research has shown that men and women use humour for different ends.Men are more likely to use “ hostile ” humour to criticize each other and establish dominance , while women employ humour to maintain relationships and put each other at ease.